Dark Skies
by For all the eternity
Summary: SSHG Series of one-shot drabbles Hermione finds a supposedly dead Snape, and gives him work and shelter, but isn't expecting to fall in love. But it seems like destiny has little regard for her wishes.
1. Chapter 1

**"Dark Skies"**

"**L**eave me alone!" she screamed, with the small amount of courage she still had left. Hermione was scared, for every belief she had was now being tested. She believed in Science, in books, in life, and in death. Hermione certainly did not believe in ghosts. But the ghost _was_ there, nonetheless of what she believed. The ghost rolled its eyes.

"Honestly, Miss Granger, you certainly do have a foul propensity for clichés…" commented the specter sarcastically, still hiding in the shadows. Her lungs skipped a breath. Now, she was even more frightened – if so was even possible.

"This is _so _not happening…" she shook her head, in disbelief and took a step back.

"Again, your vocabulary astounds me…" he sighed. "You disappoint me, Miss Granger. I had thought you to be smarter than that." At such remark, Hermione straightened her back and lifted her chin in a familiar know-it-all position.

"I _am_ smart. I was just… surprised."

"And not pleasantly so, as I could see." a smirk crossed his lips. It was probably the first proper conversation he had with anyone from his past. She pouted, infuriated.

"Obviously not." She was able to reply, in the limbo of politeness. "It's not every day that you meet your supposedly dead Master of Potions…" at that, he grinned a bit more. A victorious grin…

"Miss Granger. You, of all people (being the insufferable know-it-all you are) should know that I would never even approach that snake without having drunk a suitable dose of anti-venom." Her eyes popped wide open. "Still, it's impossible to escape completely immune to the venom. I fainted, yes, but some hours after, when the battle was coming to its end, I woke up and healed myself. Then, I was ready to go." He exposed his escape with pride. Hermione was in shock.

"But…" she managed, after a short moment. "What are you doing here, then?"

"It occurred to me, that you would be able to give me shelter." He said, inspecting his slightly dirty nails. She lifted a brow. He was exactly like she remembered him – mean, sarcastic and incredibly unpolite. Anyway, she could tell he was desesperate. And she would enjoy it.

"_Please._" She corrected. It was his time to lift a brow. But the result was far scarier than hers. "And exactly _how _do you plan to pay for your stay?"

He obviously wasn't expecting that. Obviously, he had thought "Miss Granger" was too kind to ask for such thing. _Too bad._ Thought Hermione. A flicker of uncertainty flashed on Severus Snape's face, and she temporarily felt sorry for him. Temporarily.

She smirked, a poor impression of his trade mark. "As you may know, I'm now a Potions and Arthimancy researcher. I write essays monthly for a famous international magazine. You could be my assistant." He grumbled for a moment, but finally agreed. Then, Hermione unlocked the door. "Welcome to your new home."

* * *

"**S**nape! Where did you put my mandrake root?" yelled Hermione from the laboratory. Snape sighed. He knew that when she started like that, it was impossible to stop. He laid the book on the small table next to the couch on which he rested, on the library. Then, he headed to her work laboratory.

"How should _I_ know that?" he asked, sarcastic as usual, leaning to the door frame.

"Well, _you_ were the last person to use it!..." she complained, searching on the shelves that surrounded the room. He rolled his eyes.

"No, I was not, Hermione." She stared at him for a long moment.

"What did you call me? You always call me _Miss Granger_."

He stayed quiet for a minute. Then, he returned to his usual sarcastic self. "Well, isn't that your name? You call me Snape, too."

"Yes. But that is not your first name…" She explained, gesticulating with a jar of rat tails.

"Alright. Then call me Severus, but don't ruin the rat tails." Said Snape, well, _Severus_, taking the jar from her hands and putting it back on the shelf. When he left, he wondered why he had given her such liberties, but he realized that probably, he didn't want to know.

* * *

"**H**ermione…" he started, searching for the right word.

"Yes?" she asked, looking up at him.

"I was thinking that, perhaps, it would be time for me to leave…"

"But I… I need you here!" She didn't want to be boring and insistent, but they were such good friends, even though he was often sarcastic, he wasn't ever disrespectful. And she would miss him too much.

"I'm sure you can take care of the research alone…"

"I didn't mean the work." She rolled her eyes. "You're my _friend_, Severus, and I need you here." He held back a sigh. She gulped.

"I guess I'll stay, then." He didn't lie, or say that against his will, but something inside her chest twisted to a tight knot.

* * *

**H**ermione sat on the edge of her bed, trying to figure out what exactly was happening.  
Really, had she wanted to _kiss him_? He was… Hell, he was something like twenty years older than her… She was a toddler compared to him. Hermione put her head between her hands, and her elbows on her knees. Still, he was an amazing person, with whom she was able to talk about something other that Quidditch or cooking. Also, he was quite handsome, in his own strange and mysterious way. And god… his voice was like melted dark chocolate… She closed her eyes, shaking the thoughts away. Okay, she was attracted to him, but that was just it. _Just_ it.  
She sighed and got herself into her pajamas. They were white, with navy blue polka dots. Pretty and simple. She tucked into bed, trying not to think about Severus. She tried, but that didn't mean the results were the best.

* * *

**A** scream came from Hermione's room, and Severus' heart went out racing. He got up in a second and ran to the room next door as fast as his legs would take him. She was sitting on her bed, her forehead dripping sweat and tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Hermione…" He whispered, and sat next to her on the bed. "What is it?..." She turned her teary eyes to him, and sobbed even more. She threw her arms around him, taking him by surprise.

"Thank god… You're alive…" He heard her say, between the sobs. He put his arms around her too, trying to calm her down.

She closed her eyes, leaning her head on his shoulder. Her breath was calm, now, but her heart was beating faster than usual. Severus closed his eyes too, feeling her hair against his cheek.

"Everything is okay, Hermione… I'm here… It's _okay_…" Severus whispered on her ear.

It took all of his courage to lay her again in bed, so she would go back sleep. He also slept there, holding her to be sure that she wouldn't have any nightmares again… If she did, he would scare them away.

* * *

**S**everus sneaked a look from the thick book he was reading, to the girl reading next to him. Their arms were touching, so they were almost leaning against each other. He could see she was sleepy, but couldn't bring himself to tell her to go to sleep – he was too selfish for that.

Hermione blinked her eyes, fighting the sleep that crept into her heavy lashes. She held back a yawn, but could only disguise it as a sigh. Her brain was a little fuzzy. She leaned her head on his shoulder, about to fall asleep.

Severus looked at her for a moment, until she fell completely asleep. Then, he placed her head carefully on his lap, so she wouldn't get a pain in the neck in the next morning. Also because he wanted to watch her sleep again, but that was something he didn't want to think about. He didn't want to think about falling in love with a former _student_. A girl who – though she didn't look so – was nearly half his age. He sighed and ran his hand through her frizzy hair. He would do anything for her to love him…

The dawn was starting to show its golden light when she opened her eyes again.

"Good morning…" greeted Hermione, rubbing her eyes.

"Speak for yourself. I was awake all night because of you." She looked around the room, remembering the last night.

"Oh, gosh, I'm _so_ sorry…"

"You'd better be." He rolled his eyes. Severus Snape was not a morning person. He usually got mad at every thing and everyone for no good reason before he could take his daily coffee. She chuckled.

"I'm going to make some coffee for you…" she said, but couldn't force herself to move. His face looked quite pretty, in that angle. He looked into her eyes, and somehow, the wind slapping the windows stopped, and the big clock next to the fireplace stopped ticking.

There was no question to what was going to happen next. He was going to kiss her and she was going to kiss him back (or vice-versa).

And so it was.

Severus leaned towards her lips, and, closing his eyes, he placed her lips on hers, on a gentle kiss. She put her arms around his waist, and he entwined his fingers on her hair, drowning in a pool of her scent. He didn't want to resurface.

Hermione kissed him back, fiercely. She couldn't remember kissing anyone else like that, but it was so… magical… She felt reassured, floating in his red tea and honey-scented skin. Felt safe, and didn't want to leave. She wouldn't leave him again. They had already fell into that full, warm, obviously and profoundly perfect forever.


	2. Chapter 2

Dark Skies II - "**Past is past."**

**I**t happened sometimes, when she saw Severus looking distant or thoughtful. He usually didn't space out, but when he did, she instantly felt a pang of… suspicion.  
Hermione knew about Lily Evans. He had unwillingly told her about it when she asked about his past love life. He had said that it had been an adolescent infatuation that had grown to a growing obsession – he had loved her, but it was such a small feeling, compared to what he now knew… _Or at lest so he says… _thought Hermione, hugging his neck from the back, surprising him from behind while he was having another _wondering crisis_.

"Hello…" he smiled and kissed one of her hands. She smiled back.

"What do you think about going for a walk outside?"

* * *

**H**e had noticed she was more distant and silent in the past weeks. She sometimes looked as if she was thinking about something very far away, that she couldn't reach.  
He obviously knew about the thing called Ronald Weasley. The carrot-haired brat was always the person to whom he related her strange states of unawareness. He felt suspicious, envious, but at the same time, ashamed of such feelings. Well, he loved Hermione, and knew she loved him too, but… But he wasn't exactly the wizarding England's best looking man. And he was getting old. Ronald was her age and, he supposed, reasonably attractive to the average witch. _Hermione is not an average witch_. He always thought, but a knot of suspicion tied the back of his thoughts.

She tied her hands around him from behind. He smiled

"Hello…" he smiled and kissed one of her hands. She smiled back.

"What do you think about going for a walk outside?"

"Sure, why not…?"

* * *

**S**o they went outside for a walk. It was already Autumn, and the mist was like blindness around the wild garden. Still, they knew their way like the lines on each other's faces. The path was made of wood, and Hermione´s wooden sole shoes made small muffled sounds while she walked. Severus enjoyed it immensely.

Their hands were tied together.

Hermione sighed. She felt that she had to say it- to face the truth like a Gryffindor would, except… Except she didn't feel like a Gryffindor right now. She wanted the blissful lie instead of the murderous truth.

"Hermione, I need to talk to you" his voice was emotionless, and that was definitely a bad omen…

He took her silence as a yes. And, as usual, he went right to the point.

"You still love him, don't you?"

"Excuse me?"

"Ronald Weasley."

"How did you come up with that?"

"It's plain in your face when you start wondering that you are thinking about someone else." His brows came together in his forehead.

"You're the one that's always on outer space because of Lily! How can I compete with that?"

"I regret it. You know that, Hermione." His face was blank again.

She didn't say anything. It wasn't fair that his voice could do this to her…

"Do you still love him?"

"You know I don't."

He breathed out loudly, as if he'd held that breath for the whole conversation.

"I love _you_, Severus." She whispered.

"I love you more." He gave her a cooked smile, and then a kiss.


End file.
